Sunday, April 19, 2009

Gulabi Talkies

Would you ever fall in love with a movie without watching it? I just did! I happened to watch a last few minutes of the movie Gulabi talkies and I am just not able to let go off my mind, that particular scene I watched. Gulabi Talkies, a Kannada movie by Girish Kasarvalli. I had no clue what the movie was about, until I Googled it!
This movie is basically about a woman, Gulnabi. Her name eventually becomes Gulabi because of the idiomatic use. That reminds me of one thing-something not related to this-I remember my dad talk about a lady whose name was Anne and the people of the village who were not so familiar with the Christian names called her Aane which means elephant in Kannada:-P. I started watching the movie when the woman (Gulabi) is been thrown out of her house along with her stuffs. She is too rigid and firm with her decision not to move out of her place but is thrown out unavoidably. All her things are thrown out except her television set. Owning a TV in such a village by such a woman seemed quite atypical to me. The scene which most amazed me was where two old women, after Gulabi leaves, get to her hut and start watching the TV. Best part is when the viewer gets to see that they are enjoying watching TV without even switching it on! At first, it didn
't make any sense to me. I asked my mum, who had watched the whole movie, to give an explanation of the story or rather that particular scene. Gulabi being a woman of a lower class Muslim family is not really treated 'well' by a few of the upper caste people in the village. Gulabi is a woman very much interested in cinema and visits talkies very often. When she is somehow deprived of that, she gets a television to her hut and a cable connection too. Most people from the upper caste do not step into her hut because of the class difference but still are eager to watch the TV as it is something very rare and new. A few are found to be watching it from outside. The two old women I mentioned earlier are quite orthodox and do not welcome the idea of stepping into Gulabi's hut. At the end of the movie, after Gulabi is thrown out, the two old women visit her hut, as they no longer are obligated by their religious conventions. They do not have the least idea about what the television is actually meant for, neither do they know how to switch it on rather they are not aware of the fact that the TV can actually be switched on! That scene... I just can't get it off my mind. Very good design of the scene, beautifully picturised, cute old women, the expressions given by them...i just love everything about that scene. I had the "AH!"expression when I saw that scene. I still AH! When I think of it! I would like to appreciate the director for giving such a beautiful ending! It certainly is one of the best movies I have liked without having watched.